That In Between Feeling

I ask you to quiet yourself and reflect upon a time in your own life when something ended, or seemingly had ended, not how you had hoped. If you are like me, you were likely filled with sadness as your mind went through all the “whys” and “what ifs,” wishing things could have been different?

Different faith traditions call today by a variety of names, most commonly Holy Saturday, Black Saturday, or The Great Sabbath.

We know from the gospel accounts of Jesus’s death that after He was taken down from the Cross his body was placed in a tomb that belonged to Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the ruling council who had not agreed with the decision to crucify Jesus. After the body was placed in the tomb a stone was rolled in front of the entrance. (Matthew 27:57-61, Mark 15:42-47, Luke 23:50-56, John 19:38-42.)

We also know from Jewish law that the body was placed in the tomb before 6 p.m., the hour that the Sabbath began, all work was required to stop. (The Sabbath is sundown to sundown.)

The synoptics (Matthew, Mark, Luke) tell us that Mary Magdalene and Mary, Jesus’ mother, were at the tomb when Jesus was placed in it. You have probably been at a graveside service when the body of a deceased loved one was lowered into the ground. Tears flowed and your heart ached, knowing that you will never see that person again on this earth. Allow yourself to imagine what it must have been like at the very moment the tomb was sealed.

The only reference in scripture as to what happened on this day, 2,000 years ago, is found in Matthew’s gospel (27:62-66). The chief priests and other leaders met with Pilate to tighten up security at the tomb, knowing that Jesus said that He would in fact rise from the dead, and that the disciples might be devising a plan to steal the body and claim Jesus had in fact risen. They too, should have been resting on the Sabbath, as required under the Law. At times, we are no different – keeping God’s commands when they are convenience and easy, violating them when they are inconvenient and hard.        

The disciples, heartbroken at the death of Jesus, observed the Jewish Sabbath in sorrow. They had allowed the darkness of their current situation to block out the promise that Jesus made to them – “for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, ‘The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hand of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise’” (Mark 9:31).

But, today, don’t let yesterday, the darkness of Good Friday, keep you from anticipating and seeing tomorrow, the light of Easter. I readily admit that in between feeling is often an uncomfortable place to be. Except for the fact that in this case, we know the rest of the story! The darkness will soon be replaced by light.

“Just remember this, my girl, when you look up in the sky, you can see the stars and still not see the light” (Already Gone, the Eagles).

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